Crude oil prices fall by more than 2%… and Brent is below $75 – (update)

Crude oil prices fall by more than 2%… and Brent is below $75 – (update)

Crude oil prices fell by more than 2%, at the close of trading today, Thursday, May 11 (2023), with the rise of the US dollar, and amid fears of an economic recession.

Crude prices rose during the session, supported by fuel demand data from the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, which witnessed a larger-than-expected withdrawal last week.

Crude oil prices today

At the end of the session, Brent benchmark crude futures – for delivery in July 2023 – rose 1.9%, to record $74.98 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures – for June 2023 delivery – also increased by 2.3%, to record $ 70.87 a barrel, according to the data seen by the specialized energy platform.

And crude oil prices ended their trading, yesterday, Wednesday, May 10, in decline, after 3 sessions of gains, with the release of US inventories data.

OPEC report

The OPEC monthly report showed that the production of member states decreased by 191 thousand barrels per day during April 2023, led by Iraq and Nigeria, bringing the total to 28.603 million barrels per day.

While OPEC kept the oil demand forecast unchanged at 2.33 million barrels per day in 2023, and estimates of oil supply growth from outside the organization stood at 1.43 million barrels per day.

fuel demand

A sharper-than-expected drop in US gasoline inventories pushed up crude oil prices; This reflects the strong demand for transportation fuels in the United States.

A gas station worker in America
A gas station worker in America – Photo Credit: Reuters

However; Investors remained cautious. The rise in global interest rates continued to raise fears of a global economic recession that could threaten demand.

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“Brent crude prices managed to regain some ground recently from previous oversold technical conditions, but progress has stalled somewhat with unresolved global banking tensions keeping sentiment in check,” said market analyst at IG, Yip Jun Rong.

He added that the continued negative risks of global growth conditions could put pressure on crude oil prices and prevent them from rising, with the need for a more tangible catalyst to push another upwards.

The latest US data showed that consumer prices rose in April; which increases the possibility that the Federal Reserve will continue its policy of raising interest rates; Which may have a negative impact on reducing the demand for oil.

US oil stocks

Meanwhile, US gasoline stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels last week; That is, much more than analysts’ expectations of 1.2 million barrels, according to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Distillate inventories also fell, while demand for jet fuel in the United States rose to its highest level since December 2019.

Analysts at ANZ said the uncertain economic backdrop continues to cloud the outlook.

ANZ analysts added: “While US inflation eased more than expected in April, there are concerns that the impact of recent interest rate increases is now only being felt in the US economy.”

They noted that bearish sentiment continues to permeate commodity markets amid a lack of signs of stronger demand, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, investors are also looking forward to detailed talks on raising the US government’s debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion that began on Wednesday, with Republicans continuing to insist on spending cuts.

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The standoff alarmed investors. This led to a rise in the cost of insuring US government debt to record levels; Wall Street is becoming more concerned about default risks than ever before.


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